Queen D
by Ivorycat
Summary: AU: Instead of just giving Cordelia his power, Doyle impregnates her with his daughter when he kisses her. Now Cordy must raise her part demon child while trying to keep the big bad's hands off her. Please review!
1. Chapter 1 Danielle Chase

Queen D

NOTE: I wish these sweet, wonderful, and oh, so fun Angel characters were mine, but they belong to that Joss guy, who I'd love to slap.

A/N: This is a big, hopping AU. At the end of Hero, when Doyle kissed Cordelia, instead of him just passing his power along to her he impregnated her. The storyline stays the same from there. Wesley shows up, Gunn joins the team, they move into the hotel, Darla and Angel do the big nasty, AI rescues Fred, Darla comes back pregnant, Cordy becomes a demon, but Connor was never kidnapped. Want to find out more? Well, read on.

CHAPTER 1 

          Danielle Chase lay in bed, her eyes closed; yet she wasn't asleep. The seven-year-old seemed to do that often at bedtime, just lie down without a care in the world and not sleep. Danielle's eyelashes batted a little until she decided to open them and glance around her bedroom. Powder blue, puppy themed designs covered the wall, matching her blue bedspreads, which had tiny Dalmatians printed all over them. Danielle considered dogs to be the best animals in the whole world, even though Mom wouldn't let her have one. Cordelia could be heard chatting on the phone, another reason Danielle couldn't seem to sleep. The girl slipped out of bed, out of her room, and into the living room so as to give her ear a good peek at her mother's conversation.

          "Excuse me, but how many times have I baby-sat for Connor?" Cordelia asked into the phone. "Oh, come on, Angel. Connor won't even be home tomorrow night and when no one's around you know you get bored and start blasting Barry Manilow throughout the hotel, scaring of paying customers. Oh, now you're in denial? Very mature there." Cordelia let off a huge smile as she asked, "So, you'll do it? Thank you, Angel. The love I have for you is so huge right now."

          As Cordelia hung up the phone, Danielle unexpectedly released a large sneeze. Cordy gasped a little, surprised to have the sudden company. She glanced down the left side of the couch she sat on to see her daughter, complete with her prickly demon face, or porcupine face as Danielle called it.

          "Hey, Danny, ixnay on the orcupine face pay," Cordelia translated in pig latin.

          Slowly, Danielle's face morphed back into that of a human. "Sorry, Mom." She rubbed her hand around cheeks. "Any holes?"

          "No holes," Cordelia assured her. Ever since Danielle was four, the girl just knew her porcupine face would cause holes in her face one day. Cordy patted the seat next to her and Danielle went over to join her on the couch. "Thought you were sleeping."

          "Yuck," Danielle said with an eye roll. "Why would I do that?" Cordy let off a light laugh and stroked her daughter's soft, brown hair. "Did you get a vision? Can you tell me about it?"

          "Sorry, hon," Cordy replied. "No visions of evils to come, just business. Guess who gets to spend tomorrow with Uncle Angel?"

          "Me and Mr. Broody."

          "Quit it," Cordelia chided yet couldn't help, but smile at the remark. "You love Angel."

          Danielle thought for a minute. "We don't have to shop do we?" she asked, making a face.

          Cordy shook her head. It was unconceivable how any kid of hers could hate to go near a mall. "No." Danielle released an all too soon sigh of relief as her mother tacked on, "We're doing that on Saturday."

          "Aw," Danielle groaned massively.

          "Willow?" Buffy called. She stepped out to her backyard and glanced around. "Will?"

          "Shh," Willow's voice whispered.

          "Will, where are you?" Buffy asked.

          "Up here."

          Buffy glanced upward to see her red haired friend floating about twelve feet in the air. "Willow, what are you doing? I don't think our insurance covers sky related accidents."

          "It's OK," Willow assured her. "I was drawn out here. I'm being summoned."

          Buffy folded her arms and shrugged. "By…?"

          Willow took a moment to concentrate on her words before replying to the slayer below her. "Tara."

          Buffy's eyes practically bugged out of their sockets. "What? Tara? How are you—?"

          "Be quiet," Willow immediately hushed her, causing Buffy to shut her mouth. Closing her eyes with focus, Willow gently place her feet back on ground level. "I could only get a minute."

          "Willow, what's going on?" Buffy asked with concern.

          "Something's gone wrong, or going to go wrong in LA."

          "LA?" Buffy repeated then her heart right away started to beat rapidly. "Wait. Is it Angel? Is there something wrong with him?"

          "No, honey, he's OK," Willow promised.

          "Then what?" Buffy examined her friend's face for answers.

          Willow shook her head. "Not what. Who. A very _bad _who."

A/N: Ended it abruptly, I know. Can I ask your forgiveness? I'll take it, anyway. Please review!


	2. Chapter 2 Sleepovers

Queen D

NOTE: I wish these sweet, wonderful, and oh, so fun Angel characters were mine, but they belong to that Joss guy, who I'd love to slap.

A/N: This is a big, hopping AU. At the end of Hero, when Doyle kissed Cordelia, instead of him just passing his power along to her he impregnated her. The storyline stays the same from there. Wesley shows up, Gunn joins the team, they move into the hotel, Darla and Angel do the big nasty, AI rescues Fred, Darla comes back pregnant, Cordy becomes a demon, but Connor was never kidnapped. Want to find out more? Well, read on.

CHAPTER 2 

          Six-year-old Connor Angel ran down the stairs of the hotel in trumpeting speed. Danielle was right on his heels and grabbed onto the brown haired boy's back. Connor grunted and removed himself from the girl's tight grip then turned around and tackled her to the floor. Danielle released a moan before altering into her porcupine face and flipped Connor from on top of her with the help of her legs.

          "Whoa!" Connor exclaimed as he crashed into one of the couches.

          "You OK?" Danielle asked him, sitting up.

          "Yeah, I'm OK," Connor replied then smiled. "Do that again!"

          "Hey, hey, this is a no little munchkin play zone," Lorne playfully scolded with a smile, coming out of the office.

          The two children let off a laugh then both turned their attention to a knock that came at the double glass doors. Gunn stood on the other side and let off a light wave.

          "Angel, he's here," Lorne called up the stairs.

          "Be right down," Angel called back. He came down to see Connor open the door for Gunn.

          "Hey, G-man," Connor greeted.

          "Hey, little C," said Gunn as he and Connor dabbed fists. "Hey, Porcupine Face."

          Danielle realized it then morphed back to her human visage.

          "Gunn, hey," said Angel. He turned to his son. "Are you ready?"

          "Yep," Connor replied then went to the side of the round couch and picked up his book bag. "Got everything I need."

          "Do you have your toothbrush?" Angel asked him.

          Connor nodded and Angel immediately gave him a suspicious look. "For real this time," Connor assured him. "Hey, Uncle Gunn, did you get everything?"

          "Fred ordered the pizza, we got the jumbo marshmallows, the pretzel sticks, and those fancy crackers with the peanut butter already in the middle," Gunn named off the food.

          "What about the movies?" Connor nudged.

          "We rented the Lion King, Monsters Inc, and one title I can't mention in front of your daddy." Angel raised an eyebrow at the black man. "I swear, we'll make him shut his eyes at the "grown up" part."

          "Thanks," said Angel, not showing too much relief. "And, Gunn, please don't let him overindulge on candy. He'll be up all night."

          "That's good then," said Gunn, flashing a smirk at Connor. "Cause we ain't going to sleep tonight."

          Angel rolled his eyes upward. "Oh, yeah, he's in good hands. Now, Connor, you know the rules, right?"

          "Take a bath, brush my teeth, and eat at least one veggie," said Connor.

          "And?" Angel prodded.

          "And no touching the swords no matter how shiny they look," Connor finished with a pout.

          "Good boy," Angel smiled at him then picked him up with one arm, hugging him. "Love you, Champ."

          "Love you, too. Can I go now?" the little boy asked.

          "Yes," Angel sighed, finally handing him over to Gunn. "Be good."

          "We will," Connor and Gunn called as they exited the hotel.

          "You know they won't be," said Lorne.

          "I know," Angel agreed. He glanced down at Danielle. "So, what are you up for?"

          Danny shrugged then got an idea. "Come on." She picked up her jacket and headed for the double doors. "Let's go walk."

          Angel released a groan. "Wouldn't you rather have some ice cream?"

          "Yeah, let's go get ice cream," Danielle beamed, leaving out the door.

          "Tricky little something isn't she?" Lorne smiled.

          Angel let off an unneeded breath before following the child out.

          Meanwhile, in Sunnydale Buffy, Willow, Anya, Dawn, and Giles sat around Buffy's dining room table, all thinking over what Willow had told them. Something or someone was coming to LA, which meant trouble for Angel. Trouble for Angel automatically meant trouble for Buffy, regardless of whatever it was.

          "We can't just sit here," said Buffy. "Trouble is headed Angel's way, more than usual."

          "Well, what can we do?" Dawn asked. "Wait. Are we road tripping to LA?"

          "Sounds like our best bet," Buffy said.

          "I hate to be the big buzz kill here, but we do sort of have things of our own going on here," Anya reminded them. "We can't just stop everything to save an extra stubbly creature of the night."

          "Angel's not just a vampire," Buffy insisted.

          "We understand, Buffy, but Anya makes a very good point," Giles had to agree. "It would be very difficult for all of us to just head over to Los Angeles."

          "I'll go alone," said Buffy.

          "You sure that's a good idea?" Willow asked. "I mean, you know what happens when Angel's around. Sparks of all kinds fly. Big, heaping, passionate sparks of… passion."

          "You're right," Buffy sighed. "Hate it when you're right about this stuff. Well, someone has to go to back Angel up."

          "Well, that's easy," said Anya. "Send someone who's, well, useless."

          "Who do we have like that?" Buffy wondered.

          At that moment Xander entered the dining room. "Hey, guys and girls. Sorry I'm late. Accidentally nailed myself to a wall. Very amusing story, a must tell." Everyone exchanged a look, knowing the answer to Buffy's question had just walked in. Xander just looked at them in confusion, wondering what was up. "What?"

          Angel walked some distance behind Danielle, yet was careful to keep up with the girl. They had just left the ice cream parlor and the kid could polish off a chocolate sundae faster than her mother. Angel couldn't help, but smile at the free spirited child that skipped and moved swiftly before him. She was just so much like Doyle, especially in the eyes. Having her around caused the vampire to think of his late friend constantly, which felt more like a good thing than a bad one most of the time. Angel watched as Danielle stopped to take a seat on a nearby bench. He smiled lightly and sat down next to her.

          "Don't tell me _you're_ tired already, Danny," said the tall vamp.

          "No way," Danielle replied immediately then rested against his large arm. "OK, maybe a little. Uncle Angel, will you tell me another story? Please?"

          "Let me guess. Doyle, right?" Danielle nodded her reply and Angel thought for a minute. Doyle had only been with his team for a short while, but there were still good moments. "Did I ever tell you about his thing for those donuts with the chocolate glaze?"

A/N: Not as long as it should have been, I know. I'll make it up to you… one day. Please review!


	3. Chapter 3 Danger at the Fair

Queen D

NOTE: I wish these sweet, wonderful, and oh, so fun Angel characters were mine, but they belong to that Joss guy, who I'd love to slap.

A/N: This is a big, hopping AU. At the end of Hero, when Doyle kissed Cordelia, instead of him just passing his power along to her he impregnated her. The storyline stays the same from there. Wesley shows up, Gunn joins the team, they move into the hotel, Darla and Angel do the big nasty, AI rescues Fred, Darla comes back pregnant, Cordy becomes a demon, but Connor was never kidnapped. Want to find out more? Well, read on.

          CHAPTER 3 

          The following morning at the hotel, Danielle sat on one of the couches, doodling on a pad of paper, humming a song she'd heard on TV. Lorne sat next to her, asleep with an empty martini glass in his hand; Angel was also sleeping behind the front desk. Cordelia and Wesley entered the hotel simultaneously, talking.

          "Mom," Danielle smiled, sitting the paper aside and going to hug Cordy.

          "Hey, sweetie." Cordy knelt down and embraced the child. "Did you have fun?"

          "Yeah, it was great," Danny replied. "Hi, Uncle Wes."

          "Hi, luv," Wesley greeted then glanced at the two sleeping creatures. "What happened?"

          "Those two are no fun at all when they're sleepy," said Danielle with an eye roll. "And I think Uncle Lorne fell asleep on his fourth martini."

          "These two, I swear," said Cordy, going to approach the front desk. "Angel?" The vampire seemed refusal to wake up. "Angel!"

          Both Angel and Lorne popped up at the same time.

          "Just resting my eyes," Lorne said defensively.

          "Great job of watching my kid," Cordelia said to Angel.

          "I think the kid does a better job of watching herself," said Angel, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

          "Angel," Wesley spoke up, wanting to go straight to the workday. "I have some new leads on that Spiral Horn demon you mentioned the other day."

          "Oh, good," said Angel. "Now we just need—"

          "Demon," Cordelia declared suddenly. "Two of them. They're downtown by the big street fair. They're going to start attacking children."

          "All right, a vision," Danielle beamed.

          "Fred and Gunn were taking Con to that fair today," Angel remembered. "I'll call Gunn's cell and give him the heads up."

          Danielle climbed down from the couch and ran up to her mother. "Mom, can we go check it out, too? Please?" She batted her eyelashes, letting off pure innocence.

          "No chance, Danny," Cordy replied. "Big horned ugly demons and little girls do not match."

          "Cordelia, you bite your tongue," Lorne said, obviously insulted.

          "You know what I mean," said Cordelia with an eye roll.

          "It's not fair," Danielle pouted. "I'm not little. I grew two inches last week." Cordelia raised an eyebrow at her. "OK, half an inch… almost."

          Connor sat on the couch in Fred and Gunn's living room, eating a stack of Fred's specialty chocolate chip pancakes. He nearly choked up on a piece of pancake several times laughing at the cartoons on TV.  Fred sat in the armchair, eating her own pancakes, and watching the cartoons with Connor, which seemed more entertaining at the moment than pouring over her research.

          "Morning those I love," Gunn greeted, coming out of his and Fred's bedroom.

          "Pancake kiss," Fred smiled as Gunn reached down to give her a peck on the lips.

          "Mm, chocolate chip," Gunn tasted.

          "Only the best," Fred said, feeding him a bite of pancake with her fork.

          "Hey, Connor," said Gunn, flopping down in the seat next to the six-year-old then noticed the show he was watching. "Saturday morning with Pokemon, is anything better?"

          "I love when you're in a good mood," said Fred. "Your head does that shiny thing."

          "Hey, Uncle Gunn, can we go to the fair now?" Connor asked. "Please, please, please?"

          "Funny you should bring that up, little man," said Gunn. "Your dad just called. Apparently, Aunt Cordy had a vision and now we got a job."

          "We're gonna get to kick bad guy butt?" Connor asked excitedly.

          "Connor," Fred chided lightly.

          "Sorry. I can go, right?" Connor asked.

          "Go put your shoes on, Con," said Gunn.

          Connor sat his pancakes aside and headed for the guest room.

          "I don't think it's a good idea to bring Connor along, Charles," said Fred, forming the natural worry. "If something were to happen to him Angel would never forgive us. God, _I'd_ never forgive us."

          "Hey, don't worry your pretty brown head," Gunn assured her. "Nothing's gonna happen to our little man."

          Back at the hotel, Danielle sat in Wesley's lap behind the front desk, reading up on the Spiral Horned demons with him. Angel walked around the lobby, looking at a large text. Cordelia stood over a filing cabinet, rearranging the names of certain clients by alphabetical order as Angel had requested. The brown haired woman glanced to the side and gasped at the scene before her. She saw Connor standing among a large crowd then saw what seemed to be a strange figure come upon him. Before she could get a better look, her vision faded.

          "Cordy, are you all right?" Angel asked, noticing the strange look she wore.

          "Angel," said Cordelia, standing up, panic in her voice. "I think something's wrong with Connor."

          Fred, Gunn, and Connor all stood laughing at the street fair clowns, who were jumping through hoops. A large horde of people had formed to watch them perform. Fred held Connor in her arms, smiling at him, enjoying the sparks of excitement the little boy had in his deep blue eyes.

          "You're such a natural mother," Fred heard someone say to her.

          "Thanks," the brown haired bookworm said. "He's not my son, though."

          "Good." Fred felt herself get shoved aside and she fell to the ground, holding Connor upward so that he wouldn't get hurt. "Then you won't mind if I take him off your hands."

          "Hey," Gunn noticed what had happened. It had been a clown that had pushed Fred, just not a regular one, one with a spiral horn. Gunn reached into the large backpack he held and removed a crossbow from it. "Big mistake, bozo."

          Another horned clown made his way among the crowd, darting at people's children, immediately causing a huge uproar. Fred held Connor close to her and hid him next to a carnival game, whispering to him to be quiet and stay down. She then got out her own crossbow and ran up to assist Gunn.

          Connor peeked his head out curiously, watching the two people he considered his aunt and uncle go to work. Gunn got the children away from the clowns as they nabbed them up, giving Fred the chance to shoot a crossbow arrow, which seemed to miss a great number of times. Connor slowly crawled out from the game and headed up to where the action was taking place. Unknown to him, a figure came out from the large crowd that continued to grow, watching Fred and Gunn as they finished off the clowns. The figure held a dagger in hand, ready for damage. Before it could get close enough to Connor, a gunshot went off. Screams filled the mob of people, terrified of the sound. Connor felt himself get scooped up and the next thing he knew he was inside of Cordelia's van.

          "Uncle Wes," Connor noticed as the one who had grabbed him.

          "Connor, thank God," Angel breathed, removing the large blanket that shielded him from the sun's evil rays to hug his son.

          "What happened?" Fred asked as she and Gunn came upon the car.

          "Hop in," said Cordelia from the driver's seat.

          Wesley sat next to her in the passenger's seat, holding a handgun. "Whoever that was that attempted to stab Connor should be careful to keep his distance from now on."

          "Connor, what was up back there?" Gunn asked as he and Fred climbed into the middle section of the car.

          "Connor Angel, I told you to stay hidden," Fred reprimanded. "What did you think you were doing? You could have been hurt, honey."

          "And you nearly were," Angel agreed, holding Connor up so that their eyes locked. "Listen to me, Connor, when someone tells you to hide from danger, you do it, no matter what. Do you hear me?"

          Connor pouted deeply, like he did often. "I just thought I could help. That's all."

          "Do you hear me?" Angel repeated more sternly.

          Angel released an unnecessary breath of relief, holding Connor closer to him then spotted Cordelia and Wesley both giving him a thumbs up for doing the right thing in the car's mirror.

          "Wesley, can you ID that thing that was after Connor?" Angel asked.

          "I didn't get a look at it," Wesley replied. "But I'll do what I can."

          "Probably one of them nasty ass clowns," Gunn said.

          "Charles," Fred hissed, reminding him of the young ears in the car.

          Cordelia sighed deeply. "Never a dull moment, huh, folks? Hope we don't get anymore surprises today."

          Lorne looked up from a book he was reading when he heard the double doors of the hotel open. "Back already, guys and girls?"

          "Uh, hi," Xander greeted. "You haven't seen a tall, living dead vampire that rescues little old ladies have you?"

A/N: I'm being nice and updating. See? So, it's your turn. Be nice and please review!


	4. Chapter 4 Friend from back in the Day

**Queen D**

NOTE: I wish these sweet, wonderful, and oh, so fun Angel characters were mine, but they belong to that Joss guy, who I'd love to slap.

A/N: This is a big, hopping AU. At the end of Hero, when Doyle kissed Cordelia, instead of him just passing his power along to her he impregnated her. The storyline stays the same from there. Wesley shows up, Gunn joins the team, they move into the hotel, Darla and Angel do the big nasty, AI rescues Fred, Darla comes back pregnant, Cordy becomes a demon, but Connor was never kidnapped. Want to find out more? Well, read on.

CHAPTER 4

          "I can find the enemies list we made when Connor was born and see if that leads us anywhere," Wesley said, leading the way into the hotel.

          "Don't even say the word enemy," said Cordelia, walking up behind him. "I just want to get Danny and relax in a nice, cozy mall with—"

          "Xander," Wesley recognized, as he stepped inside the hotel. Cordelia, Angel, who held Connor, Fred, and Gunn came inside next.

          "OK, Wesley, that wasn't anywhere near the area of funny," Cordy said with an eye roll.

          "Missed you bunches, too, Cor." Cordelia and the others looked up to see that Xander was indeed standing in the hotel lobby.

          Cordelia, speechless for probably the first time in her life, turned to Angel. "Xander Harris is standing in our lobby," the brunette said. "Feel free to tell me this statement is a lie."

          "Pretty real from where I'm standing," Angel replied, putting Connor down.

          "Who is he?" Fred asked, as both he and Gunn looked a little out of the loop.

          "Xander Harris, one of Buffy's allies from Sunnydale," Wesley explained.

          "Friend from back in the day?" Gunn asked.

          "Pretty much, yeah," Angel shrugged.

          Connor tilted his head curiously, staring up Xander.

          Xander did the same, looking at Connor. "Uh, does the kid have some type of unknown eye issue?" Xander asked.

          "Connor, stop that. You know it's not nice to stare like that," Angel admonished.

          "Sorry, he just looks... weird," Connor decided.

          "You live with a green, horned demon and _I_ look weird?" Xander seemed insulted by the small child. "Who is this kid, anyway?"  
  


          "That's Connor," Angel spoke up a little awkwardly. "My son."

          Xander chuckled lightly. "No, really. Who is he?" Everyone exchanged a glance, not really knowing what to say. "Wait, you're serious? But how in the name of all that's good and shiny is that even possible? I thought vampires couldn't have _little_ vampires."

          "I'm not a vampire," Connor stated. "But I can bite a lot. Wanna see?"

          "Connor," Angel warned.

          "Kill the small talk," Cordelia said, going down the few steps that led into the lobby to approach Xander. "What are you doing here?"

          "From what the old green ears can hear, there's a brewin' evil coming," Lorne said, walking into the room with a fresh martini.

          "Wait a minute." Angel went down the steps and stood next to Cordy. "Xander, what's going on? Is it Buffy?" Angel's senses perked as usual at the thought of anything that would bring any such harm to the slayer.

          "Shut off the alarm, Angel," said Xander. "Buff's not the one in infinite danger, you are. Isn't that a relief?"

          "Guess that's one way of putting it," Fred said with a slight half smile, linking her arm with Gunn's.

          "What's going on here, Xander?" Cordelia asked, hands on hips.

          "Look, I don't know much," Xander said. "Just being messenger boy really. According to Willow something is coming to LA."

          "Is this somethin' big?" Gunn asked.

          "Don't know," Xander replied.

          "Can we avert it?" Wesley asked next.

          "Don't know," Xander said again.

          "Do you know what it is exactly?" Angel asked him.

          "Not a clue," Xander stated.

          "Could you be more useless?" Cordelia said with an eye roll, heading towards the front desk.

          "Don't- hey!" Xander realized he'd just been insulted. "I'm here doing the warning thing and you can point me where you need me."

          "Thanks, Xander, but around here we do what we usually do," said Cordelia, picking up a large text. "We go research-y until we find something. Wes?"

          "On it," Wesley said, proceeding towards the office.

          "Fred, Gunn, can you head back to the fair in a couple of minutes to see if you can get anything on whatever that was that tried to attack Connor?" Angel asked.

          "Sure," Fred nodded then turned to Gunn. "Crossbows ready?"

          Gunn held his weapon up. "Big, pointy, and ready for the just in case butt whoopin'," he assured her.

          Fred smiled at him then left out of the hotel, Gunn right behind her.

          "Dad, can I go with them?" Connor asked, walking down to his father. "Please? I'll be good and everything."

          "Not a chance, Connor," Angel said immediately. "But feel free to go to your room. You'll be there for most of the day, anyway."

          "That's not fair," Connor pouted. "I said I was sorry." With a simple wave of his finger, Angel gestured upstairs. "Aw, I never get to have any fun." Connor headed up the stairs, passing Danielle, who was coming down. "They're being meanies down there," Connor whispered to her then went by.

          Danielle shrugged and went down into towards lobby. "Mom?"

          "Down here, hun," Cordy said.

          "Mom?" Xander repeated Danielle, completely in shock. "Did that little girl just say—?"

          "Xander, meet my daughter," said Cordelia with a smirk like grin. "Danielle Francis Chase."

          "Who's _that_?" Danielle asked, making a face at the sight of Xander.

          "His name's Xander," Cordelia explained. "He… we… I… we used to…" Cordy searched her mind for the best way to put it.

          "Yeah, your mom and I used to date," Xander supplied.

          "What he said," Cordy sighed.

          Danielle raised one eyebrow and folded her arms, in a very Chase pose. "Really? Guess what?" she said to Xander.

          "Get the feeling you're going to tell me, anyway," Xander said.

          Danielle wiggled her pointer finger, signaling for Xander to come down to her level. Xander shrugged and knelt down. "My dad was a demon and I'm one, too. I've got super strength, but only with my porcupine face. Wanna see?"

          "Danny," Cordelia said unfavorably. "Why don't we save the porcupine face for later?"

          "Sure," Danielle said, shooting Xander a devious smirk.

          Xander chuckled slightly nervously and patted Danielle on top of the head. "Cute kid. Not at all… terrifying."

          "You should see her when the hotel's out of nutty buddies without backup," Lorne chimed in.

          "Anyway, Danny, it's Saturday." Cordelia smiled from ear to ear. "Shopping day."

          "Oh, Mom," Danielle moaned.

          "No, 'oh, Moms,'  Dan-o," said Cordelia right away. "Going to have to deal."

          "Hey, Cordelia, mind if I tag along?" Xander asked. "You know if the good fight doesn't need me right now."

          "We're good," Angel assured him.

          "I guess…" Cordelia trailed off. "Um, if you don't mind the constant Danielle moaning over the mention of pink."

          "If he goes, I don't want to," Danielle said then quickly added, "Malls aren't for boys."

          "No, honey, you don't get it," said Cordelia. "They're where you _find_ all the boys, preferably the ones with large trust funds and sport cars."

          "Nice prefs, Cor," said Xander as he, Cordy, and a sulking Danielle headed for the double doors. "Hey, did I tell you about the time I saved the world from evil Willow?"

A/N: I know it took me, well, forever to update, but I'm back now. Hopefully you guys are happy about that. You better be, anyway. Don't make me get tough. Please review!


	5. Chapter 5 Xander at the Mall

**Queen D**

NOTE: I wish these sweet, wonderful, and oh, so fun Angel characters were mine, but they belong to that Joss guy, who I'd love to slap.

A/N: This is a big, hopping AU. At the end of Hero, when Doyle kissed Cordelia, instead of him just passing his power along to her he impregnated her. The storyline stays the same from there. Wesley shows up, Gunn joins the team, they move into the hotel, Darla and Angel do the big nasty, AI rescues Fred, Darla comes back pregnant, Cordy becomes a demon, but Connor was never kidnapped. Want to find out more? Well, read on.

CHAPTER 5

          Fred and Gunn stepped out of their cab, which they had taken since Gunn's truck was back at their apartment. The state fair's grounds had quickly emptied, leaving only a few distant people. Before the two of them could get a quick look around, a man in a tired old coat with heavy amounts of fuzz on his face approached them.

          "Can you spare a few?" he asked, holding out his hand.

          "Can you promise not to buy booze with it?" Gunn countered.

          "Hey, pal, I don't make promises I can't keep." The man turned and started to walk away. "Geez, first I nearly get trampled by that crazy knife lady, now this."

          "Wait," Fred called after him, causing the man to jump. "Oh, sorry. You saw someone with a knife?"

          "Yeah." The man turned back around and faced them. "She was hovering over some kid then somebody shot at her and she turned yellow."

          "Did you get a look at her?" Gunn wanted to know.

          "I can only tell you if I get a good look at that booze money." Gunn sighed deeply with annoyance and reached into his pocket, pulling out a ten dollar bill then handed it to the man. "Thanks. She looked like an Amazon girl," the homeless man said, going back to what he had previously been speaking of. "Short black hair, thin, got a scar or something over one of her eyes."

          "Let me guess. Girl didn't right down her phone number and tell you to call her in the morning?" said Gunn.

          "Don't be ridiculous," said the man. "Like I own a phone." He walked off again.

          "Well, at least we have a start," said Fred then she thought for a moment. "How many demons have scars?"

          Xander sat on a stool bench outside of a dressing room in Gap Kids, his cell phone pressed against his ear. "No, Buff, nothing new here. I swear I'll let you know when there's a change. Just consider me Private Harris, messenger extraordinaire."

          His ears perked at the sound of a moaning Danielle saying, "Mom, that's ugly. I don't wanna try it on."

          "Gotta go, Buffy," Xander said then hung up, going to see what the fuss was all about.

          "Danny, this dress would go so great with those new shoes I got you," Cordelia insisted. She held a light blue sundress, which was covered in white flowers.

          "I don't like dresses. They're dumb," Danielle stated, folding her arms. "And I don't like those shoes, either."

          "Young lady, those are designer shoes, which I bought with the scant salary your Uncle Angel decides to give me every week, so don't give me lip about the shoes," Cordelia reproached.

          "Hey, what's the fuss about, ladies?" Xander asked, coming up on them.

          "My extremely ungrateful daughter seems to dislike _my_ taste in clothing," said Cordelia.

          "It's ugly and I don't wanna wear it," Danielle said crossly.

          "Hey, easy," Xander stepped in before Cordelia could say anything. "Can we neutral corner ourselves?"

          "Who asked _you_?" Danielle suddenly snapped at him.

          "Danielle," Cordelia chided. "He was just trying to help."

          "I don't care," Danielle said, going to take a seat on the bench Xander had been on.

          "I'm sorry about that, Xander," Cordelia apologized on behalf of her daughter.

          "Hey, I've heard worse," Xander said. "But maybe you could lighten up on the clothes thing."

          "Look, Xander, thanks, but I don't exactly need parenting tips from single bachelor guy," Cordelia said, nearly as cross as Danielle had been. She walked off in search of more outfits.

          "Oh, yeah," said Xander to himself. "I can really feel the love in this mall."

          As the day turned to late afternoon, Wesley stayed in the office, rereading Connor's enemies list for what was probably the millionth time. He had also been checking for any websites that still offered a reward for Connor's capture, but he'd had the fortune of finding none. The former watcher glanced up from his work at the sound of tiny feet outside the door.

          "Connor, is that you?" Wesley asked.

          "No," the little boy's voice sounded.

          Wesley smiled to himself and said, "Come in here you little terror."

          Connor entered the office timidly, going up to the desk. "Dad made me go to my room, but I got bored. You won't tell, right?"

          "Just this once," Wesley agreed then gestured for Connor to come to him. He picked the brown haired child up and sat him in his lap, feeling the boy's weight. "One night with Gunn and you're ready for a nice weight loss program."

          Connor smiled a little then sat his tiny hand on the list that was on top of the desk. "What's this? It's got my name on it."

          "Never mind," Wesley said. "It's nothing, just some research."

          "Is this 'cause I ran out in the street today?" Connor asked him. "I did something bad, didn't I?"

          "We all make mistakes, Connor," Wesley said. "It's all about what we learn from them."

          Connor thought for a minute. "What'd I learn?"

          Wesley chucked lightly. "I'm afraid you're going to have to figure that out on your own, lad."

          "Can I help?" Connor asked, obviously meaning with the research.

          "You don't want to tire yourself over some tedious research," Wesley said.  "Why don't you go play?"

          "Uncle Wes, what's tedious?"

          The British man chuckled again. "It means boring, Connor."

          "No, it's not boring," Connor said. "Let me help, please?"

          "All right," Wesley agreed, giving in. "Would you like to read with me?"

          Connor nodded and rested against Wesley, ready to read.

          Angel, who had just entered the lobby, watched them from where he sat behind the main desk. Connor just seemed like any other six-year-old boy, but still seemed so different at time. Angel often pitied the child for having a more unusual family than most other kids, even though he could tell Connor was happy. If nothing else,  he was happy.

          "Looks like the little nipper doesn't like the cooped up in his room thing," Lorne said, walking in.

          "I'll let him by this time," Angel said.

          "Angel, I'm sensing some Papa Bear vibes," said Lorne. "Of course, when it comes to you and Connor, what else is new?"

          "It's just…" Angel glanced over into the glass window of the office to get another look at his son. "Who would want to hurt something so innocent?"

          "Sadly enough, it's usually the guilty that get off scot free," Lorne told him. "Just don't worry. We'll find whatever this thing is and send it packing."

          Angel let off what he hoped was a warm smile, showing that he agreed, but that the worry wouldn't leave him any time soon.

A/N: Short, I know, but I didn't have much time to write tonight. Don't worry. There's more to come. Please review!


	6. Chapter 6 Visit from Daddy

**Queen D**

NOTE: I wish these sweet, wonderful, and oh, so fun Angel characters were mine, but they belong to that Joss guy, who I'd love to slap.

A/N: This is a big, hopping AU. At the end of Hero, when Doyle kissed Cordelia, instead of him just passing his power along to her he impregnated her. The storyline stays the same from there. Wesley shows up, Gunn joins the team, they move into the hotel, Darla and Angel do the big nasty, AI rescues Fred, Darla comes back pregnant, Cordy becomes a demon, but Connor was never kidnapped. Want to find out more? Well, read on.

     CHAPTER 6

          Cordelia opened the door to her apartment, allowing Danielle and Xander to come inside. Danielle immediately ran to her bedroom, shutting the door. Cordelia sighed deeply as her daughter left, used to the girl's reaction after a mall trip. She sat her shopping bags down and ran a hand through her sort of messed brown hair.

          Xander sat down his own shopping bag and sat on the arm of the couch. "OK, so Danielle's not a mall groupie. I think we're missing the bright side of this. I got two new pairs of lovely pants along with a shirt that makes me look stunning. Let's not forget the imitation leather handbag."

          Cordy laughed light. "Still with the same Xander Harris oh, so classic wit I see."

          "What can I say? I was born to be among the wits," Xander said.

          Cordelia sighed, taking a seat in the armchair. "Listen, Xander, I'm really sorry I snapped at you earlier. It's just dealing with Danny and this thing with Connor—"

          "Don't even worry about it," Xander cut her off. "I'm the expert on the whole stressful, learning to deal thing."

          "Yeah," Cordy nodded. "So, where are you staying?"

          "Oh…" Xander realized he hadn't exactly made plans before he left Sunnydale. "Well, I guess I could crash at a motel or something."

          "No, don't be silly," said Cordy. "You can stay here. You're already on the couch and everything."

          "Sounds good." Xander smiled softly at her. "Thanks, Cor."

          Cordelia smiled back at him, very fondly.

          "What's _he_ still doing here?" Danielle asked, coming out of her room.

          "_He_ is staying here while he's in town," Cordelia replied.

          "What?" Danielle looked outrage. "Why does he have to stay here? Why can't he go bug Uncle Angel or somebody?"

          "Danielle," Cordelia said reproachfully. "He's staying here." The six-year-old quieted down, still looking angry. "Do you understand?"

          Danielle nodded then rolled her eyes, going back to her room.

          Angel sat at the office's laptop computer at the main desk, Wesley hovering over him. Connor had been sent up to bed a few minutes before. Angel had the phone pressed up against his hear with one hand and tried to work the computer with another.

          "Fred, can you elaborate on the word scar a little?" Angel asked.

          "That's all I know, Angel," Fred told him on the other line. "The guy Charles and I met up with said this woman had a scar or something over her eye."

          "And he said thin and short, black hair, right? Well, that narrows the search to only every Goth in LA."

          "Angel, we're doing the best I can."

          Angel let out an unnecessary breath, trying to control his rudeness. "Sorry, Fred. I'm glad you got a lead. I'll see you in the morning." He hung up the phone and hit the search button on-line. "In a moment Google here will take us to—"

          "One of five thousand and twelve searches for the words think, dark haired, and scar," Wesley chimed in.

          "Oh, this is useless," Angel decided. "We're never going to find out what ever this thing is that's after Con if we can't even get a decent description."

          "Angel, don't worry. We'll find something," Wesley assured him. "We just can't give up."

          Meanwhile, at Cordelia's apartment she stood over the couch, attempting to make it up with a sheet. Xander pulled the other end of the sheet, helping her to make up the couch. When Cordelia was done with her end she picked up the blanket she'd picked out for Xander and sat down in front of the couch, the blanket in her lap. Xander sat down and joined her when he was done.

          "Sorry about the white, pink heart sheets," Cordelia apologized. "My usual guest over here is Connor and he's happy as long as he can stick peanut butter under the coffee table and get away with it."

          "It's OK," Xander said, slightly amused. "It feels like a really warm sleepover thing." He sighed then and said, "I want to thank you for putting me up, Cordy."

          "No big."

          "A big," Xander corrected. "I know you and I have a history and everything—"

          "Hey. Who in our line of work doesn't have history?" Cordelia pointed out. "Besides it'll be good having you around. It'll remind me of when I was young, hot Cordelia instead of single woman, overworked Cordelia."

          "Well, I'm leaning more towards young and hot," Xander said.

          Cordelia looked at him seriously for a moment then just smiled.

          From the doorway of her room, Danielle stood peeking out and listening to them. There were a couple of things she just didn't like about Xander. First of all, she had never seen him before and Danny didn't much care for new people. Second of all, why did her mom get all happy and smiley whenever he opened his mouth?

          "You hear that noise out there?" a voice asked Danielle. "The most meaningful thing Cordelia ever said to me was, "You look like a retard," and even that wasn't say with heart."

          Danielle turned around and smiled. "Hi, Daddy."

          Doyle sat on her bed, flipping through one of her books. "How are you?"

          "I'm OK," Danielle replied insincerely.

          "No, you're not," Doyle could tell. "Your mouth is bunched up in a huff, just like your mother." He patted a spot near the bed, gesturing for her to come over. "Come tell dear, old Dad about it."

          Danielle went over and joined him on the bed. "It's Xander. I don't _not_ like him. I just want him to…"

          "Take a leap?" Doyle supplied. Danielle nodded. "Know how you feel, Danny."

          "How do I make him go away?" Danielle asked, lying back on her bed.

          "Well," Doyle grunted a little as he lay next to her.  "Question is, do you really want him gone or do you just think you do?"

          Danielle shrugged a shoulder. "I don't know."

          "Well, until you figure that out, don't go looking to rid LA or yourself of anybody. You got that?" His daughter nodded a yes. "Good. Now close your eyes. You need your sleep." Danielle hesitated a little. "Go on. Don't worry. We'll see each other real soon."

          Danielle finally obeyed and closed her eyes, drifting off almost immediately.

A/N: I'm sorry if some of you think my Doyle writing is so bad you want to throw stuff at me. I was trying to think about things he might say since I didn't get to see many Angel episodes with him, so this is pretty much the idea I got from him. If you have any helpful suggestions or know some things he might say, let me know. Please review!


	7. Chapter 7 Finding the Bad Guys

**Queen D**

NOTE: I wish these sweet, wonderful, and oh, so fun Angel characters were mine, but they belong to that Joss guy, who I'd love to slap.

A/N: This is a big, hopping AU. At the end of Hero, when Doyle kissed Cordelia, instead of him just passing his power along to her he impregnated her. The storyline stays the same from there. Wesley shows up, Gunn joins the team, they move into the hotel, Darla and Angel do the big nasty, AI rescues Fred, Darla comes back pregnant, Cordy becomes a demon, but Connor was never kidnapped. Want to find out more? Well, read on.

CHAPTER 7

          Loud, indistinct conversations could be heard at a bar in LA, mostly men complaining about the wife, or the job, or something else they took lightly in their lives. A young woman entered the bar then, walking gracefully up to the counter. She took a seat on a bench, facing the bar tender, flipping her long, brown hair over her right shoulder.

          "Give me a gin and tonic," the woman told the bar keep.

          "Kind of a rough drink for a lady like you," he said.

          The woman shrugged. "What makes you think I'm much of a lady?"

          The bar tender smiled at her, going to get her drink.

          "Vera Holden I presume."

          The brown haired woman looked up and asked, "Who wants to know?"

          Another woman joined her; slim framed with short hair. "My name is Jhiera."

          "Cool title. Not from around here I'm guessing," Vera shrugged as her drink was sat down in front of her. "Anyway, mind telling me just how you know me?"

          "I have my resources," Jhiera replied simply. "I also know that I am in need of your assistance."

          Vera smiled smugly. "And what makes you think I want to offer you my assistance?"

          "I can provide you with what you want or, rather, who."

          "What are you talking about?" Vera asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

          "Francis Doyle's daughter."

          "Doyle," Vera echoed the man's name seriously. "Wait. How the hell do you even know Doyle? And what daughter?"

          "Do we have an understanding?" Jhiera asked, holding her hand out.

          Vera stared at her hand for moment then shook it with her own. "Fine. I'll humor you."

          Over at the hotel everyone had arrived early and all were occupying the lobby, minus Angel. The entire morning had consisted of nothing, but research and the later afternoon was becoming that way as well. Connor and Danielle sat on top of the stairs, watching the adults go at it.

          "This is boring," Danielle said to Connor. "I like it better when Mom gets the visions."

          "Danny? You think they'll find the bad guys today?" Connor asked.

          "Probably," Danny shrugged. "Is Uncle Angel still mad at you?"

          Connor shook his head no. "I thought he was this morning when I saw his firm face," he said, naming the face Angel used when Connor just knew for a fact he was in trouble. "But that was his broody face."

          "Oh," Danielle nodded. "Look. Here he comes."

          Angel had just stepped out of the office when Danny spotted him. "Guys?" The other members of the gang glanced up at him. "Meeting, now." Cordelia, Gunn, Fred, and Lorne all stood, heading for the office, leaving Xander behind with a text he was reading. "Xander?" Angel addressed.

          "Yeah?" Xander responded, not looking up.

          "You, too," Angel said.

          Xander looked up. "Oh, right. I knew that." He got up and followed after the others into the office.

          Danielle and Connor popped up from where they sat and scrambled down the stairs, pressing the ears against the ajar office door. Inside, Angel sat at his desk, Fred sat in a chair near him, Cordelia lay cross legged across a leather chair, and the guys, including Wesley who was already in the office, stood leaning against the walls.

          "We have new information on the clown demons that attacked Fred and Gunn at the fair," Wesley said. "They're a class of demons that work as henchmen."

          "So, someone sent them after us?" Fred asked. "Was it the woman that's after Connor?"

          "Yes, we believe so," Wesley replied. "The thing is, though, from what I can tell, the clown demons, or the Claudus as they are known as, are lower demons. So low in fact that they can be taken down by the humblest of warriors."

          "Hold up," said Gunn. "The things we saw didn't look like they had any trouble holding their own. You sure you got the right guys?"

          "Positive," Wesley assured him.

          "But that doesn't make any sense," said Fred. "Why was it so hard for us to take them down at first?"

          "This a picture perfect puzzle," Lorne chimed in, putting his martini glass up to his lips.

          "So here's what we do," said Angel. "Fred and Gunn, you hit the streets. Check the demon bars, Gunn's sources, whatever you can find. I want to know who these clowns' boss is."

          "You got it," Fred replied.

          "Lorne, you and Wesley try to reach some of your connections," Angel said to the green demon.

          "Not a problem, Angelkins," Lorne said.

          "Xand, you and I can stick around and bury ourselves in some more book work," said Cordelia.

          "Sounds like a plan," Xander said. "Wow, throw in an apocalypse or two and I think I was in Sunnydale."

          "Great." Angel stood from his desk. "And I'll head for the sewers and… punch anyone who won't talk to me really hard in the face."

          "He always gets the good job," Gunn commented.

          Danielle turned to Connor, as the two of them still stood outside the door. "Looks like they're gonna go look for the bad guys," Danielle informed the younger child. "Too bad we're gonna be stuck here with more boring books."

          "They never let us go," Connor said with a small pout. "I wish I could. It's about me, right?"

          Before Danielle could say anything the door of the office came open and the two kids had to jump back to avoid getting hit in the face.

          "What are you doing?" Cordelia asked her daughter.

          "Um, dancing?" Danielle smiled.

          Angel went up to Connor while the others got ready to go. "Hey, champ, be good for Aunt Cordy and Xander, OK?" Angel told the boy. "The others and I are going to be gone for a little while."

          Connor nodded and Angel messed his hair playfully.

          Xander and Cordelia both went around the main desk as the hotel began to clear out. "Big, whopping research party," said Xander. "Just like the old days, huh?"

          "Old days?" Cordy repeated with a slight laugh. "Try the now days, buddy. But you got a point." She looked at him. "This is fun in a dullish kind of way."

          "Well, you know what they say," said Xander. "Gonna be dullish, don't do it alone."

          Danielle glanced over to see her mother giggle. Xander had made yet another one of his jokes. Danielle narrowed her eyes at Xander menacingly, as if she was a hunter and he was a gigantically annoying moose.

A/N: Thanks for the tips on Doyle, guys. I pretty much just picture the guy's voice in my head and imagine the Irish-y things he might say. I wish he had been on for more than nine episodes, which was totally bogus on Joss's part. Please review!


	8. Chapter 8 Dead Ends

**Queen D**

NOTE: I wish these sweet, wonderful, and oh, so fun Angel characters were mine, but they belong to that Joss guy, who I'd love to slap.

A/N: This is a big, hopping AU. At the end of Hero, when Doyle kissed Cordelia, instead of him just passing his power along to her he impregnated her. The storyline stays the same from there. Wesley shows up, Gunn joins the team, they move into the hotel, Darla and Angel do the big nasty, AI rescues Fred, Darla comes back pregnant, Cordy becomes a demon, but Connor was never kidnapped. Want to find out more? Well, read on.

   CHAPTER 8

          Vera sat on the couch in her living room that evening, watching Jhiera, who sat cross legged on the coffee table, her eyes closed tightly. Vera attempted to flip through a TV guide, but couldn't take her eyes off what Jhiera was doing. The dark haired woman was just so strange and, more than anything else, puzzling.

          "Would you stop that already?" Vera snapped. "You're making me nervous."

          Jhiera opened her eyes slowly. "This exercise relaxes the mind."

          "Isn't that special?" Vera said with an eye roll. "Look, I don't have time to come at one with my inner babe. Just explain to me how I can get my hands on Doyle's daughter."

          "Be patient," Jhiera told her. "We both want the same thing. The demon's daughter will be in our grasp sooner than expected."

          Vera raised a suspicious eye brow at her. "You sound like you have a calendar date marked or something."

          Jhiera just closed her eyes again without answering her, restarting her exercise.

          Gunn and Fred entered a bar that was loaded down with noise from conversation, mainly men. The couple had been searching demon bars nonstop and had finally decided to step into a normal one. Gunn lead the way down the aisle, going to take a seat at the counter.

          "Charles, we've been at this for nearly four hours," Fred said, a groan in her voice as she sat next to him.

          "You tired, babe?" Gunn asked her.

          "Just a little," Fred sighed. "Don't get me wrong, though. I want to find whoever it was that came after Connor. I just think we're going about it the wrong way. We've been on wild goose chases at all of these bars."

          "What can I get you folks?" the bar tender asked, walking up with a pad of paper in hand.

          "Information," Gunn replied. "We got questions."

          "Hey, pal, this isn't a library," the bar tender informed him.

          "We just want to know a couple of things," said Gunn. "Anything been going down here?"

          The bar tender thought for a moment the replied, "Men come in, load up on booze, their wives come and drag them home. Pretty much as down as it gets in here."

          "Charles, let's go," Fred said. "It's impossible to get anything on some thin woman with dark hair and some scar over her—"

          "Eye," the bar keep supplied. "Don't know if it's the same chic you're looking for, but a girl just like that came in here a few hours ago."

          Gunn and Fred exchanged a look. Finally, something to go on.

          "Did you find anything out about her?" Gunn asked. "_Anything_?"

          "Not much," the man shrugged. "She was in here talking to some other woman. Didn't catch much."

          "Well, do you have any way we can maybe get a better idea of what she looked like?" Fred asked.

          "Might've got her face on the security cam," said the bar tender.

          "Give it up," Gunn said.

          "You got money?"

          "You got the tape, we got the money," Gunn replied simply.

          The bar tender sighed and headed towards his security camera.

          "At least we have something now," Fred said with a little smile.

          "Told you we'd get something," Gunn said to her. "Need to listen to me more."

          Fred shook her head and said, "Of course."

          Lorne and Wesley climbed out of Wesley's car, heading towards the Caritas debris. Lorne shook his head at the horribly burnt building, which still got to him after all those years. The grand re-opening hadn't been quite as grand as he had hoped it would be.

          "Are you sure you have a contact here?" Wesley asked.

          "Demon I knew from Pylea," Lorne explained. "Hangs out in what's leftover at Caritas. Good guy for hearing things, but if you don't catch him when you can it's your loss."

          The two of them stepped up to a small opening at the side of the building and a large amount of old bits and pieces collapsed, nearly hitting them both. Wesley and Lorne exchanged a glance of caution before going inside fully. The inner was no greater than the outer, if not worse. Lorne stepped out to the middle of the room.

          "Great Lou Dab Val," Lorne called as if he were chanting. "Come to us. We beseech you for answers and wisdom." The green demon glanced around, not hearing a reply. "Lou? Hey, Lou?"

          Finally, a dark blue demon tumbled out from behind some ruble. He stood, allowing Wesley to get a good look at him. Deep blue skin, large green eyes, and a long tube for a mouth. He also looked more frightened than "great" as Lorne had called him.

          "Charming fellow, isn't he?" Wesley asked.

          "Shh, Wes," Lorne hissed then turned to Lou with a smile. "Lou, buddy, pal, old amigo."

          "Krevlorneswath," Lou addressed. "It's been such a long time."

          "Noted," Lorne said. "And nowadays it's just Lorne."

          "Oh, of course," Lou said meekly. "So, what can I do for you?"

          "Well, just a tad bit of info would be helpful," Lorne replied. "Have you gotten word on any Claudus demons up for hire? You know the clown look-alikes?"

          "The Claudus?" Lou repeated. "No one hires them anymore. They're low breeds."

          "Looks like you were right on the money there," Lorne said to Wesley before going back to Lou. "Get any activity out of these guys lately?"

          "Very little, but I believe a few were involved in a child abduction recently."

          "Near child abduction," Lorne clarified. "That's why we're here."

          "I wish I could help, but nothing has really been going down these days," said Lou. "It's been rather peaceful."

          Lorne sighed deeply. "Well, thanks, anyway, pal. I'll be seeing you."

          "Good luck to you, Lorne," Lou said then waved to Wesley, who waved back lightly.

          "Big walloping dead end here," Lorne said to Wesley as they exited.

          "It's all right," Wesley assured him. "We won't actually have anything to worry about until we let Angel know his son is still in danger."

          Cordelia and Xander sat side by side at Angel's desk in his office at the hotel, a large pile of books stacked up in front of them. Cordy flipped back and forth through the pages of a book she had been reading for nearly half an hour. She suddenly shut the book hard in frustration, completely tired.

          "That's it," she said. "I officially loved whatever passion I had left for reading. There is _nothing_ here that can help us. And other that nothing, what's there? More nothing!" Xander chuckled a little, staring at book of his own. "Well, I'm glad I'm entertaining you."

          "No, it's just that…" Xander trailed off, laughing again. "You remember homecoming senior year?"

          Cordelia smiled, fading into memory. "Yeah. Buffy and I nearly killed ourselves competing, paid for the limo, and overly expensive dresses and, what do you know, neither one of us wins. Fun evening, huh?"

          "Yeah, well, the part I remember best is the way you looked that night," Xander said. "Like a dream come true."

          "Aw, that's so… corny," Cordelia said humorously. "But sweet." Xander nodded before picking up his coffee cup and taking a sip. "I don't know. Maybe we could break and check on the kids." Cordelia picked up another book, looking at the cover. "Some of these things look completely ridiculous. I find it hard to believe that a large cat demon would be after Connor—" She suddenly slipped forward, startling Xander, who flung his cup a little, spilling coffee on Cordy's blouse.

          "Oh, sorry, Cordy, major oops moment," Xander apologized as they both broke into laughter.

          "Not that funny," Cordy said, unable to hide her own humor, though as she tried to wipe the coffee off with her hand.

          "Here let me help," Xander said, grabbing a napkin then reached out, wiping off her shirt.

          "God, hot stuff, hot stuff," Cordy hissed.

          Xander chuckled a little. "I was just thinking the same thing." They suddenly glanced up into each other's eyes, Cordy surprised by him. "Not that I was… I just meant that…"

          "Uh, maybe we should get back to research," Cordy said.

          "Yeah, research. That's good. That's production," Xander agreed. They reached out towards the pile of books, suddenly locking hands as they touched the same text. "OK, not so…" Cordelia looked up at him again, seriousness in her eyes. "Uh, productive."

          The pair leaned in closer towards each other, suddenly finding themselves in a kiss. Xander reached out and wrapped his arms around her and Cordy in return hugged him around the neck, pulling him in tighter. They only kissed deeper, neither looking ready to let go of the other's lips.

          Unknown to them, Danielle sat outside in the lobby, watching them from the very see thru window. The little girl's eyes were bugged out as she looked at them in revulsion. She turned and ran towards the stairs where Connor sat playing with his toy cars.

          He looked up at Danny and asked, "Hey, wanna play?"

          "No!" Danielle suddenly screeched. "I want to leave."

          "How come? Where you going?"

          "I don't care," Danielle snapped. "I'm not staying here anymore."

          Connor stood and said, "I'm coming, too."

          Danielle didn't say anything just took her jacket from one of the couches, heading for the double doors. Connor took his own jacket and followed after her. It wasn't until they had left out of the hotel completely that Connor thought about something.

          "Danny? What about Aunt Cordy?" he asked.

          Danielle shook her head and said softly, "She doesn't need me, Connor. She has Xander."

A/N: In case I messed up in previous chapters, Danielle's age is seven and a half. Just wanted to clarify. Please review!


	9. Chapter 9 Talks and Taken

**Queen D**

NOTE: I wish these sweet, wonderful, and oh, so fun Angel characters were mine, but they belong to that Joss guy, who I'd love to slap.

A/N: This is a big, hopping AU. At the end of Hero, when Doyle kissed Cordelia, instead of him just passing his power along to her he impregnated her. The storyline stays the same from there. Wesley shows up, Gunn joins the team, they move into the hotel, Darla and Angel do the big nasty, AI rescues Fred, Darla comes back pregnant, Cordy becomes a demon, but Connor was never kidnapped. Want to find out more? Well, read on.

CHAPTER 9

          Xander poked his head into one of the many bedrooms of the hotel and saw Cordelia staring out of a large window, an even look on her face. She seemed to be hugging herself, as her arms were wrapped around her securely. Xander smiled to himself and just stared at her for a moment. Cordelia just seemed so different from the rich, stuck up, full of herself teen cheerleader he once knew. Of course she wasn't completely different, just not exactly the same.

          "Hey," Xander greeted softly, going up behind her and reaching out to wrap his arms around her. "I was hoping we could finish what we both sort of started."

          "Xander," Cordy said, suddenly pulling away from him.

          "I was just kidding," Xander said defensively.

          Cordy turned to him and sighed. "Can we just… not?"

          "Not?" Xander repeated. "Cor—"

          "Xander, please," Cordelia interrupted him. "I can get mixed up in this right now."

          "Mixed up in what?"

          "This. You and me. I don't want to go through this again. In fact I don't think I can go through this again. Xander, I have a kid."

          "Look, Cordy, I'm not asking for a big house with a white picket fence here," Xander attempted to reason.

          "Fine." Cordelia refolded her arms in front of her chest. "Then what are you asking for?"

          "Uh… can I use a lifeline?"

          "Same old Xander," Cordelia sighed deeply, starting to walk away.

          Xander turned around and said, "Yeah, and I'm kind getting sick of that phrase you know. Same old Xander. What, is that supposed to have some special meaning behind it?"

          "Gee, Xand, sorry if I insulted you," Cordy said sarcastically. "But have you ever thought the whole kissing you thing was just a fluke? Newsflash, I haven't been on a single date in like a year and that statement right there was really pathetic so, don't you dare point it out. Point is, I've been lonely and you were the closest thing to male."

          "Or what?" Xander asked her. "Hmm? You would have been tonguing it with the green guy or Wesley?"

          "OK, that's just gross." Cordelia made a face. "Me and _Wesley_?"

          "Point is you kissed me for a reason."

          "Me? Sorry to disappoint, buddy, but I believe you kissed me."

          "In your little dream world maybe," Xander countered.

          "If this were my dream world then you would not be here," Cordy retorted.

          "Yeah?"

          "Yeah."

          "Am I the only one feeling really hot right now?" Xander asked her.

          "Nah, I feel it, too." She leaned in towards him. "Kiss my neck now." Cordy suddenly pulled back before he could. "Wait a minute. What am I saying? God, this is just like high school. Fall for the geek and then he cheats on you."

          "You do know Willow's gay now, right?" Xander reminded her.

          Cordy shook her head in annoyance. "Look, the point is that I'm not about to deal with this, Xander. You only being with me because your incredible horniness wants it."

          "Well, maybe my incredible horniness wants you," Xander said seriously. "Ever thought of that?"

          "There you go again," Cordelia suddenly exclaimed. "You're doing it _again_."

          "Doing what?" Xander asked her, completely exasperated by their conversation.

          "You're making me fall in love with you." Xander didn't say anything, just stood at a complete loss for words. "You made me fall in love with you." Cordy sighed again and went to sit on the foot of the bed in the room.

          Xander joined her on the bed and asked, "You what?"

          "I don't know," Cordelia said softly. "Ever since the day you and I started going out it's like… you made me see something in you I didn't even know was there. You made me feel something for that I _really_ didn't know was there. Then after I moved to LA, it didn't actually help. I have no idea why, but it's like you're the one part of Sunnydale that I don't want to completely repress."

          "Wow. If this is what stunned feels like then I'm definitely feeling it," Xander responded. "You're not exactly alone in this, Cor. I mean you are the only non-demon girl I've ever dated. Almost married one you know."

          "Xander Harris married," Cordelia said. "No, just can't picture it."

          "Neither could I. I completely walked out on her at our wedding. Maybe when I was walking I was sort of… running?"

          "Don't even tell me you were running back to me," Cordelia said. "That would define corny."

          "Like it's not possible?" Xander asked. "I mean this is me you're talking about. I do the crazies, even psyche crazies."

          "What are we supposed to do?" Cordelia wondered.

          "When you find an answer let me in on it," Xander replied.

          "Hey, anybody here?" Gunn's voice called suddenly.

          Cordelia and Xander exchanged a look then headed downstairs to see that Fred and Gunn had just entered the lobby. Cordy went up to them, seeing that they both looked pretty tired.

          "Hey, guys," she greeted gently. "Any luck?"

          "Somewhere in that area," Fred replied.

          "Where's Angel?" asked Gunn.

          "He's here," Angel said, walking into the hotel, followed by Lorne and Wesley.

          "Among the three of us… we found zero, zilch, and zip," Lorne said immediately.

          "We almost got a load with zip, but it turned out to be faulty," Wesley added with dry humor.

          "I got nothing out there," said Angel. "What about you guys?"

          "Nothing, but the books and then nothing actually in the books," said Cordy. "So, in case you're wondering, we're right back where we started."

          "In the end, it makes a nice long circle," said Xander.

          "We got a tape of the girl that man described to me and Fred," Gunn said. "The one that may be out for Con." He removed the aforementioned tape from his sweatshirt pocket.

          "Bless you, dear man," Cordelia said with relief.

          "This'll get us an image," Angel said, taking the tape from Gunn. "Where are Connor and Danny? Anybody checked on them?"

          "No, it's been quiet," Cordelia said. "Strangely quiet. The kind of quiet you don't usually get with two kids under the age of nine in the house."

          All seven of them exchanged a look, pretty much wondering the same thing.

          Fred started, "You don't think they…?"

          Danielle and Connor kept straight down the blocks, leading away from the hotel, as none of them were very good at crossing streets. While Danielle merely walked, Connor would skip on one foot and jumped on two as he moved. The night air had turned very nippy and it was fortunate that the two had thought to bring jackets along with them.

          "Danny?" Connor called to the girl who walked in front of him. "Where're we going, anyway?"

          "I don't know," Danielle replied honestly.

          "Why are you so mad, anyway?" Connor asked.

          "I'm not mad," Danielle said, her tone suggesting otherwise.

          "Yeah, you are," Connor insisted. "Your nose is all wrinkled up like you smell really, really bad cheese or Aunt Cordy's brownies."

          "My mom kissed Xander."

          "Yuck," Connor responded, making a face. "Aunt Cordy can't kiss."

          "Well, she did. She kissed_ him_."

          "Oh. How come you care?"

          "I don't," Danielle started to defend herself them stopped and looked at him. "I don't know, Connor. She's my mom and she's not supposed to kiss."

          "Why not?" Connor asked, going up to a tree and playing around it.

          "Um… um…" Danielle couldn't really find an answer. "Cause he's not my dad."

          "Have to agree there." Danielle looked up to see Doyle leaning against a gate around the corner of the street. She looked over to see that Connor had obviously not heard the voice.

          "Dad," Danielle whispered excitedly, turning the corner and going up to him.

          Doyle knelt down to her level. "And what are you doing out here?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Kind of late for you."

          "I took a walk," Danielle shrugged.

          "I'm guessing this _walk_ has nothing to do with Xander, right?"

          "You talk funny and you know stuff," Danielle observed. "Just like Uncle Wes." Doyle gave her a look. "OK, it's Xander."

          "He kissed your mother," Doyle added. Danielle looked at him in confusion. "What? Think you're the only nosy one in Cordelia Chase's life? Tell me, what don't you like about this Xander to begin with?"

          "He's not you, Daddy," Danielle pouted.

          Doyle couldn't help, but let off an amused smile. "No one could ever be that perfect." He reached out and touched her cheek affectionately, like he did often. "But how about giving this new guy a chance, sweetheart?"

          Danielle thought for a moment then shook her head. "Nah. He sucks."

          "I'm a bad mother," Cordelia said as she, Xander, Fred, Gunn, Wesley, and Lorne headed down the street, led by Angel, who was sniffing out the kids' scents. "That's it. I'm a bad mother, the worse. The most horrible mother in his—"

          "Cordelia," Angel suddenly cut off. "You're a bad mother. We got that part."

          "I'm sure what Dead Boy means is that the kids are safe and that this is a mistake that could've happened to anyone," Xander clarified.

          "You think that's what he means?" Lorne whispered to Fred.

          "Not a chance," the slim woman replied.

          Doyle stood before Danielle, his arms folded. "You're so stubborn," he said. "Obviously a trait of your mother's side."

          Danielle kept her pout on her face. "So… still don't like him."

          "You're going to have to get over that, Danny," said Doyle. He knelt down to her. "Keep this in mind. If you don't listen to Angel, Cordy, or the other lock heads then listen to your father."

          Before Danielle could saying anything Connor's voice suddenly bellowed out, "Danny, Danny, help me!"

          "Connor," Danielle called back.

          "Hang on," Doyle said, grabbing the child's shoulder before she could move. He glanced out over the corner to see Connor get grabbed by Jhiera then stuffed into the backseat of a car.

          "Connor!" Angel's voice sounded, running up, the gang not far behind.

          Vera stuck her head out of the driver's side window as Jhiera climbed in next to Connor. "Sorry, hottie," Vera said to Angel. "Miss me." She waved a little before driving off.

          Everyone watched stunned as the car sped down the road before Angel could make a move on it with Connor inside.

          "Mom," Danielle called to the brunette woman.

          Cordelia looked towards Danielle's direction and her eyes grew larger than ever before. "Doyle?"

          "Doyle?" Wesley repeated in disbelief.

          "This is Doyle?" Gunn asked.

          "Doyle who?" Lorne looked confused.

          "Who's Doyle?" Fred asked.

          Angel said nothing in regards to his supposedly deceased friend, just glared down the road where Vera's car had driven.

          Doyle raised his hand and waved a little. "Uh… hi, gang."

A/N: I haven't updated in a little while, but, hey, I did just now, so don't worry and be happy. Please review!


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